


Dinner With The Family

by Syrum



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Awkward Conversations, Coming Out, F/M, Family Dinners, M/M, his kids aren't so innocent after all, overprotective Joe, poor joe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-20
Updated: 2015-12-20
Packaged: 2018-05-07 18:57:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5467463
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Syrum/pseuds/Syrum
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It had been almost a year since Eddie’s death, and Joe himself had encouraged Iris to try moving on.  Apparently she had taken his advice to heart, which he was pleased about, and had decided that dating a crook was the best way to move on, a fact he was rather less pleased about.</p><p>Which was how he ended up standing in his own kitchen, with the daughter he adored, and a surprisingly polite and well-dressed Mick Rory.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dinner With The Family

**Author's Note:**

  * For [writerdragonfly](https://archiveofourown.org/users/writerdragonfly/gifts).



> This only exists thanks to writerdragonfly...who I hope approves of this fic!
> 
> Yeah, this probably is going to get in the way of my shipping Mick/Caitlin buuuuuuuut we shall see.

Had anyone asked, in passing, which of Detective Joe West’s children was more likely to end up dating a criminal, he would have laughed in their face and then threatened to have them arrested for slander. No, both of his kids were too good for that, admittedly in their own ways.

Iris was a diva, always had been, but she was sweet and kind. She knew right from wrong, even from an early age, and was fiercely protective of her adoptive sibling. It likely helped that Barry was her best friend as well, but the only serious trouble she had ever really gotten into was down to her need to protect him. Beating on bullies who picked on her brother didn’t really count as ‘trouble’ in Joe’s book anyway.

Barry had always been a good boy. Sure, he had played up a little after his mother’s death, but Joe couldn’t blame him for that; the kid had lost both parents in one night, witnessed it even, that sort of thing didn’t just go away no matter how much he wished it would. He was quiet, the studious type, intelligent beyond his years. He was also stupidly in love with Iris, had been since he was ten years old, and the chances of him giving up on that crush and finding someone else to love were fairly slim after so many years.

In hindsight, Joe’s answer probably should have been Iris. Still, he certainly had not expected to be standing in his own kitchen facing off against a known criminal, while Iris hung off said criminal’s arm.

Perhaps ‘facing off’ was a little too strong, but it certainly felt that way as his fingers itched to go for the gun he had left on the coffee table in the living room. It had been almost a year since Eddie’s death, and Joe himself had encouraged Iris to try moving on. Apparently she had taken his advice to heart, which he was pleased about, and had decided that dating a crook was the best way to move on, a fact he was rather _less_ pleased about.

Which was how he ended up standing in his own kitchen, with the daughter he adored, and a surprisingly polite and well-dressed Mick Rory.

Mick Rory. Heat Wave. The man who had tried to kill Barry at _least_ three times. The man who was presently setting the table in preparation for the meal that was bubbling away on the stove, while Iris fussed around him.

It was astonishing, really, that Joe managed to keep his head and not simply blow the man’s brains out for _daring_ to touch his baby girl. Shock likely had a lot to do with it, that and the fact that Mick was being downright _sweet_. He poured the drinks, cleared away the mess Iris made as she cooked, he even pulled her chair out for her so she could sit once the meal was ready. It was jarring to say the least, and for a moment Joe wondered if perhaps a Mick Rory from one of the _other_ Earths had stepped through into theirs and replaced the gem-stealing, flame-gun-brandishing lunatic that terrorised the city on a bi-weekly basis.

Or, well, parts of the city. And Joe couldn’t recall any reported sightings of Heat Wave for at least a couple of months, so there was that at least. Still, he couldn’t say he was particularly happy about the fact that Iris kept throwing the man loving glances, and even less happy about the fact he was returning them.

He had tried to talk to Iris about it, tried ever since the six-foot-something criminal had stepped into his house, and every single argument he could come up with she had managed to shoot down. Yes, she knew he was a criminal. Yes, he had killed people, she wasn’t entirely ignorant. No, he wasn’t going to hurt her and she knew the relationship wouldn’t be an easy one. He was _reformed_ , she said. He _helped_ people now, she said. Joe had to admit, if anyone was likely to find out the complete and unabridged truth about someone before starting to date them, it was Iris, but he still couldn’t trust the man. Not after everything that had happened.

The front door slammed, and Joe let out a breath he hadn’t known he was holding. If there was anyone on Earth that Iris might actually listen to, it was Barry, and having had enough run-ins with the Rogue’s resident pyromaniac Barry was also the most likely to try and talk her out of this little ‘fling’ of hers.

“Hey guys, sorry I’m late, had to re-run some tests at the lab and-” Barry’s sentence died upon his lips, the easy smile that he wore freezing on his face as he came to a stop just inside the doorway, eyes falling on the unexpected presence at the table. He had known, as Joe had, that Iris had planned on bringing her new boyfriend home for the first time, to ‘meet the family’ as she had put it, but Barry had never pried as to who she might have been seeing, and she had certainly kept her cards close to her chest on this one.

Really, Joe thought, she might have at least warned them.

“Barry, I think you already know my boyfriend, Mick. Mick, this is my brother and best friend, Barry Allen.” Iris smiled from her seat, appearing entirely unaffected by the tense atmosphere in the room. The glint in her eyes however, and the way she held herself - a little too relaxed - indicated that she was well aware as to what was going on around her.

“Mick...Rory?” Barry looked as though part of him wanted to laugh, while the other part wanted to punch the guy in the mouth. 

“Nice to meet you in person, Barry. Iris told me all about you.” As Rory stood from his seat, Joe could not help the way he tensed, eyeing up the doorway and calculating just how fast he might be able to move from the table to grab his gun. A glare from Iris stilled him, though, as Rory stretched out a hand to Barry, who took it on instinct. The handshake was short, yet amicable, and Mick was _smiling_ at Barry.

“I...yeah, you too, um-” Releasing the hand within his own, Barry seemed to be practically vibrating with tension, and Joe knew that look; he had no idea what he should do. “I just need to...phone call.” Scrubbing a hand through his already windswept hair, Barry shot Joe a slightly helpless look. “I’ll be right back.”

“Well, that went better than I thought it would.” Iris smiled, taking Mick’s hand as he sat once more at her side, the gesture earning her a warm, almost shy smile from the man. Silence fell over them once more, broken only by the scrape of forks against plates, and Barry’s slightly frantic tone drifting through from the next room.

 _“Hey, it’s me...well yeah, obviously, but-...no, listen for a moment, did you know Heat Wave was dating my sister?...My sister, Iris...”_ There was a momentary lull in the conversation, and although her head was down Joe could see Iris’ interest in the conversation he was sure Barry had not meant for them to overhear. _“...wait, I only have one, which sister did you think I-...no, I said ‘like a sister’, not the same thing at all...because you were getting jealous every time I mentioned her name...we only made out once! Okay twice, but it doesn’t-...”_ Another pause, and Joe was fairly certain Barry was on the receiving end of a tirade from whoever he had called. Caitlin, perhaps? Joe didn’t think the two were romantically linked, but after Iris’ revelation he couldn’t be certain of anything any more. _“...I didn’t even know you then!...No, I don’t owe you-...okay fine, ice cream, tomorrow, my treat...yes, she can come too. Wait, did **she** know about Mick and Iris?”_ A third lengthy pause, presumably while the other person spoke with ‘her’, whoever ‘she’ was. _“And you believe her?...No, me either...no, you don’t need to come over, it’s fine. I think. I’ll call you if things get out of hand...yeah, love you too, see you tomorrow.”_ Footsteps sounded, socks against carpet, and Barry returned looking slightly less like a rabbit in headlights, though his reprieve was not likely to last for long, not with the way Iris was looking at him.

“Bartholomew Henry _Allen_ , do _not_ tell me you have been holding out on me?” She was grinning from ear to ear, looking more like the Cheshire Cat than the sweet, loving Iris West, and Joe was secretly pleased that her attention was not on him. Glancing at Mick, he was pretty sure the other man had silently agreed, and was shooting Barry a sympathetic look.

“I...don’t know what you’re talking about?”

“Yes you do! I cannot _believe_ you hid this from me!”

“I’m not hiding anything, nope, nothing at all.” Barry sank slightly in his seat, and had he always been this _terrible_ at lying? How in the hell had he kept his double life a secret from her for so long? “Besides, _you_ didn’t tell us you were dating Mick Rory.”

“Oh no, do _not_ turn this one on me! This is all about _you_.” Iris snapped, letting her fork clatter to her plate and crossing her arms over her chest, giving Barry that _stare_. Joe simply watched him crumple into his seat. “So, who’s the lucky girl?”

“No one.” He tried again, though it was half-hearted and Iris was succeeding in wearing him down.

“Don’t lie to me Barry! I heard you, with your ‘ _I love you_ ’.” It was a surprisingly passable impersonation, Joe thought. “I want to know who this mystery girlfriend is, and how long you’ve been dating.”

“I promise you, Iris, there is no ‘girl’. I don’t have a girlfriend.” And that sounded a little _too_ much like the truth, and...oh. Joe took a swig of his drink to hide his expression of surprise, and judging from the look on Iris’ own face he wasn’t the only one who had figured it out.

Well, that wasn’t the revelation he had expected over dinner.

“You do realise, Barry.” Joe finally interrupted before Iris could say anything to embarrass the poor kid further. “You’re going to have to introduce us to this guy sooner or later.” Barry let his head fall into his hands, groaning in abject mortification.

“Not how you pictured coming out, kid?” Mick asked, breaking his silence and sounding almost apologetic.

“You could say that.” Barry replied, offering a small, slightly terrified smile to the pyromaniac. Mick reached out, giving Barry’s shoulder a slight squeeze, and really? They were bonding over this, of all things? Joe wasn’t certain if he should laugh, cry or something else entirely.

He still wasn’t happy with the situation. At all.

“At least _you’re_ not dating a criminal.” Joe remarked, raising his fork to his mouth and trying to sound as nonplussed as possible while Iris glared daggers at him. Barry buried his head in his hands once more, with another low groan, and Joe had a feeling he really, _really_ did not want to know why.


End file.
